The 120-Year War on Women’s Hormones: From ‘Hysteria’ to Political Battlegrounds
For 120 years, since the term “hormone” was first coined in 1905, the science surrounding these powerful chemical messengers has been inextricably linked to political agendas and societal control, rather than solely focused on advancing women’s health. A growing chorus of experts argues that women’s bodies have been consistently positioned as battlegrounds for broader anxieties, from demographic fears to religious and patriarchal ideologies.
For centuries, women and their reproductive systems, governed by fluctuating sex hormones, have been pathologized. The ancient Greek term for uterus, “hysteron,” is rooted in the word for “hysteria,” a diagnosis historically used to dismiss and control women’s experiences. This pattern continued even after hormones were scientifically identified; in 1906, estrogen was named after Greek terms evoking “mad desire” and “production,” framing female biology through a lens of perceived instability and purpose limited to reproduction.
“Hormone science has continued in that tradition, not as a tool to truly understand and advance women’s health, but as a way to exert control over and ridicule women’s bodies,” one analyst noted. This historical context extends to a significant knowledge gap surrounding women’s hormonal health, leaving many feeling dismissed or unheard by the medical establishment.
Weaponizing Reproductive Abilities
From the development of the birth control pill to in-vitro fertilization (IVF), abortion care to menopause treatment, women’s hormonal health and reproductive abilities are consistently leveraged to serve political ends. Recent headlines illustrate this stark reality, with the current administration pursuing policies to incentivize childbirth among [white, “American”] women through “baby bonuses” while simultaneously enacting restrictive immigration policies. Simultaneously, there’s a push for IVF funding even as essential menopause research projects face potential cuts.
Women’s bodies are increasingly being framed as the solution to America’s demographic anxieties, rather than being recognized as complex, individual biological systems deserving of care, respect, and science-led support. This shift demands urgent attention.
A History of Political Interference
The notion of “neutral” hormone science is a myth. Throughout its history, the field has often reinforced existing power structures, including white supremacy and patriarchy. Even landmark achievements like the birth control pill were entangled with problematic ideologies.
Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood and a key advocate for birth control from the 1920s through the 1960s, championed the pill’s potential to grant women bodily autonomy. However, she also espoused eugenic beliefs, actively discouraging reproduction among marginalized communities – including Black and disabled individuals – and even addressed a women’s branch of the Ku Klux Klan on the topic of population control.
The Catholic Church similarly banned hormonal birth control shortly after its development, aiming to preserve its patriarchal ideals and political power under the guise of upholding the sanctity of marriage and family life.
Even advancements in menopause care were not immune. A 1960s pamphlet from the Medical Women’s Federation downplayed hormone replacement therapy, framing menopausal symptoms as “breakdowns” and “hysterical” outbursts, reinforcing societal expectations for women to maintain a certain appearance and behavior. As the pamphlet stated, “Women over 50 have a very important part to play and can be very attractive people,” subtly implying a need to conform to patriarchal standards of beauty and desirability.
Today’s Barriers to Access
Political barriers continue to impede access to comprehensive knowledge about hormonal health and reproductive technologies. While approximately 42% of U.S. employers now cover fertility benefits, including IVF, nearly 6 in 10 American employees remain without this coverage, exacerbating racial disparities in access. Only 19 states legally mandate any form of fertility coverage, often excluding single women and LGBTQ+ couples. The out-of-pocket cost for a single IVF cycle averages between $9,000 and $14,000, often insufficient to achieve pregnancy.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration signaled a willingness to expand access to IVF and reduce costs, stating that “public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children.” This rhetoric prioritizes heteronormative, middle-class families while simultaneously, those with lower socioeconomic status have faced increased abortion surveillance, cuts to Title X funding (which supports low-cost contraception, pregnancy testing, and reproductive healthcare), and reductions in Medicaid, which finances over 40% of U.S. births in low-income and rural communities.
This duality – expanding access to select hormonal technologies while dismantling systemic reproductive care – exemplifies how reproductive technologies are used as pawns in political battles over sustaining patriarchy, religion, and anxieties about declining birth rates.
Reclaiming Biology Through Data and Education
True innovation in hormonal health isn’t about launching more boutique fertility clinics or “libido-increasing” hormone supplements. It’s about empowering women with easy access to unbiased data and education surrounding their hormonal health. Before considering expanding their families or investing in costly IVF treatments, women need clear, destigmatized insights into their fertility and other hormonal biomarkers that are affordable and accessible.
This requires a shift away from the 36% of women who currently avoid seeking treatment for hormonal health concerns due to fear of being dismissed or told their issues aren’t “serious” enough. Patients deserve to be seen by healthcare providers who view hormonal fluctuations not as something broken to be “fixed,” but as vital biological rhythms to be interpreted and supported throughout the reproductive spectrum – from PMS to perimenopause.
“Women deserve the respect of having their bodies treated as intricate systems equal to any other bodies, and researched and innovated as such, instead of as pawns in patriarchal reproductive control,” one advocate stated. Currently, 57% of women believe hormonal health remains taboo, a stigma that can be reduced through a conscious shift in language, moving away from terms like “raging hormones” and “hormone imbalances” that echo the historical pathologizing of female biology.
The mission of health tech should be to empower women to educate themselves, in a non-biased, data-supported way, about their own hormonal systems and boldly claim their autonomy, because knowledge truly equates to power.
